Victoria's Secret's secret: Behind the scenes at the annual fashion TV special

Model Miranda Kerr walks the runway during the 2011 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at the Lexington Avenue Armory on November 9, 2011 in New York City.

Photograph by: Jamie McCarthy
, Getty Images

NEW YORK — It took 21 makeup artists, 19 hairstylists and US$12-million to put together this year's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show spectacle. Then, there are the unofficial figures: the dozens of bodyguards populating the backstage area; the hundreds of flop-sweaty journalists covering the scene; and the countless cans of Diet Coke littering Manhattan's 69th Regiment Armory hours before the runway show taping unfolded. The eye-popping spectacle is really a numbers game and to prepare you for the Nov. 29 TV special, we went backstage to break the phenomenon down, figure by well-toned figure.

10 — Months since Angel Doutzen Kroes gave birth

Although she's walked for VS since 2005, this year marked a different sort of milestone for Kroes, who was participating in her first show since having a baby this past winter. "Miranda [Kerr], Alessandra [Ambrosio], Adriana [Lima] and I, we talk about motherhood all the time," the Dutch beauty said during the backstage frenzy. "There's actually a real balance to having the modelling career and being able to be a mom, it's quite amazing. I can do this—" she said, gesturing to the room of robe-clad models, "—and feel really good about myself. And then I can go home tonight, back to my baby, and know that I can do everything else a mother can, too." Her secret to bouncing back? (Warning to new moms: you’re not going to like it.) "It's really genetics," the blue-eyed blond 26-year-old said, before adding, "and working out! My body is always athletic — I've worked out my whole life prior to pregnancy, and always watched what I eat. But it's all worth it.”

0 — Number of times Cameron Russell previously walked the show

While vets such as Kerr and Kroes are headlining the broadcast, the show boasts 15 rookies. "This is way bigger than anything I've ever done. Ever," said Cameron Russell, an auburn-haired Boston native. "Backstage is already crazy, so I'm expecting the show will be even more insane." Moments after Kanye West and Jay-Z performed a surprise, stage-shaking showdown, the 24-year-old was on the runway clad in a wild Samuel Bennett-designed bolero with feathers, a stark-white corset and well, not much else. Russell wasn't too concerned—she knows the career of a lingerie model is not a long one. "Modelling is a great job, but it’s also like winning the lottery, it's not something you can bank on," said the part-time economics and poli-sci student. "But it is good not to graduate with $200,000 worth of student loans, too."

150 – Number of models "seriously considered" for the 2011 show

John Pfeiffer has either the worst or the best job in the company. As casting director, he reviews thousands of perfect cheekbones and Cadillac-long legs to determine who lives up to VS standards. Although no one wants to make a model cry, he also regularly crushes dreams. "It's all about editing. We saw so many girls we loved in the casting process this year, and we said no to a lot of girls we loved," said Pfeiffer, who’s worked for VS since 2000. Pfeiffer isn't heartless: this year's nearly-naked rock show features a record 37 models. Once the candy-coloured confetti curtain falls, it's back to work. "A tentative date has already been set for next year, so it really is a year-long process. It just keeps on going." Poor bastard.

US$2.5-million — Value of Miranda Kerr's "Treasure Bra"

Sitting out in the open backstage, not unlike a model's extra-lean turkey sandwich, was the crown jewel of this year's show: an aquamarine bra studded with white diamonds, citrines and pearls. Only an oil czar could afford this year's iteration of the VS stunt — a luxe fantasy item at the intersection of sex and sensationalism. Only London Jewelers' Candy Udell was left to flank the heist-worthy piece. "It took six months to create, and was all hand-stitched. It was highly confidential," Udell beamed. And yes, it is available for sale. Pray you never screw up enough to consider that fact.

1995 — Year Monica Mitro and Ed Razek produced the first VS Fashion Show

Their first show took a mere five weeks of frantic preparations. "We used garments that came right out of the store," the executive vice-president of VS public relations recalled. "Now it's about creating theatre, creating an hour of entertaining television that's also a couture show," she added, pausing to greet Angels Kerr and Adriana Lima. Days before this year's show taped, reports of Lima's extreme "liquids-only" diet flooded the press (he model later said they were exaggerated). Mitro's own preparations aren't so intense: "It's fairly normal for me — I did, however, clean my apartment this morning," she said. "I get this burst of energy: I don't want to miss a thing, so it's just me juggling between the collection, the models, the stage and the production." She and Razek work well together. "We know each other well enough to know our strengths and weaknesses," she said. "But I'm also always right, and he just needs to realize that."

Bay, both vilified and worshipped for his crashes-and-cleavage blockbusters, has a long history with the brand. Besides directing a handful of the company's commercials, Bay also cast Angel Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in his third Transformers film. Cornered at the after-party, where pretty young things grazed on tuna tartare and reporters gorged on "raspberry bombshells" laced with Chambord, Bay shared his thoughts. "They spend a lot of money on these things, a lot, but this was a very warm show. It just had a really fun feeling to it," said the director, who wasn't exactly hoping to find his next ingenue. "You got to talk to people, you can't just tell by looking at them." How did he know Huntington-Whiteley was the one? "I was working on a commercial with her, and she had the ugliest toes I've ever seen, blisters all over. She complained: 'Look what you did to me, Mike!' I said, 'Rosie, that's your job, to walk around and get blisters.' That's when I found I liked her personality." Hey, they can't all be malt shop discoveries.

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